December 2013

There are few thingsmore frustrating to me than spending 20 minutes explaining my problem to someone in “Customer Service” only to be bounced to another person, explaining everything all over again, and then being bounced to yet another person. What these companies really need is an “I Am Annoyed” Department to call AFTER you speak to their “Customer Service” Department.

So you got a bad review. It isn’t the end of the world if you have a reputation management strategy in place that minimizes the damage of the occasional Negative Nancy. Reputation management is not about controlling what others say. It is about letting go and managing the information you can control. This includes the quality and depth of information you are proactively and strategically sharing with the online world.

The Disney brand is one of the most powerful in the world! They successfully deliver their message, confirm their credibility, connect emotionally with customers of all ages, motivate their customers, and build extreme customer loyalty. Their brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers old and young. So, what happens when something gets in the way of this beautiful brand relationship? Can Disney’s customer loyalty magic trump a bad experience?

One poor customer experience can erase one hundred positive customer experiences, because the last impression is the most memorable. When a prospect leaves your property, they will quickly forget the details in your apartment homes, but they will never forget how you made them feel. This is why the customer experience is so important.

Let’s cut to the chase. Every apartment community has one – the ‘loser’ apartment. It could be the location, features, or something else, but for whatever reason we can’t seem to get it leased. With every potential renter, our internal sales/marketing voice demands: “I think I can… find the beauty. I think I can… turn the negative into a positive,” but deep down we just know this particular unit is ‘the little apartment that can’t’.